Chapter 15: Psychological Disorders Flashcards
Abnormal Psychology
Scientific study of psychological disorders and abnormal behavior
Insane (insanity)
a legal term, not a medical or psychological one. Insanity has implications for being held responsible for a criminal act (an issue of free will)
Deviance
• The individual’s behavior, thoughts, and emotions are unusual
Distress
• The individual is negatively affecting others and/or self
Dysfunction
• The individual’s behavior/thoughts/emotions are interfering with daily functioning
Danger
• The individual’s behavior/thoughts/emotions are putting others or him/herself at risk for physical harm
Clinical Interview
• Meeting face to face with a client and asking questions in a structured or unstructured format
Clinical Tests
• Clinician administers a questionnaire with the client
Clinical Observations
• Clinician observes the client’s behavior
Analog Observation
client observed in clinical environment (office, school, hospital, etc.)
Naturalistic Observation
client observed in everyday environment
Self Monitoring
clients observe/record their own behavior
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
- A manual created by clinicians to aid in diagnosing and classifying psychological disorders
- Published the the American Psychiatric Association
- It provides standardized terms and criteria to define and diagnose disorders
- An early predecessor was originally titled Statistical Manual for the Use of Institutions for the Insane
- The current edition is the DSM-5(2013) and it contains nearly 300 disorders, sorted by type and subtype
When was the first modern edition of DSM published?
First modern edition (DSM-1) was published in 1953
How Widespread are Mental Disorder?
- Nearly half (46%) of Americans will have a diagnosable mental disorder in their lifetime
- Only about 6% of Americans will have a severely debilitating mental disorder requiring intense therapy or hospitalization
What is the most common diagnosed category of disorders?
Anxiety
• Much less common disorders (but popular in the media) include schizophrenia and dissociative identity disorder
Reasons on why psychological disorders are increasing
- Clinicians are getting better at diagnosing disorders and diagnosing them earlier than before (DSM & fewer symptoms have to be expressed to count towards diagnosis than before)
- More behaviors/thoughts/emotions are considered to be abnormal than before (The overall number of official disorders keeps increasing with each edition of the DSM & While some new additions seem legitimate (such as adding subtypes of autism including
Asperger’s syndrome) some of these disorders seem a bit oversensitive (One newer disorder in the DSM is “caffeine intoxication” which can result after 3 or more cups of coffee)) - The mental health of the population appears to be getting worse
What Causes Psychological Disorders?
- Biological/Physiological Model
- Psychodynamic Model
- Cognitive-Behavioral Model
- Sociocultural Model
Biological Model for psychological Disorders
- Disorders arise due to malfunctions in the brain disease, injury, rain infection OR imbalance in neurotransmitters (serotonin=depression) OR hereditary (bipolar and schizophrenia)
Psychodynamic Model for Psychological Disorders
• Underlying, unconscious forces cause conflict and create disorders • If one has problems during childhood, they will become “fixated” and cannot properly adjust and develop
Cognitive-Behavioral Model of Psychological Disorders
- Disorders arise from maladaptive behavior and problematic thought
- Environment improperly reinforces unhealthy behavior• Intense, competitive workplace encourages drug or alcohol use
- Unrealistic appraisals of the self, others, and environment contribute to disorders• One could overreact to mildly stressful situations, or undervalue meaningful qualities of self and others
- Focus too much on negative experiences and ignore positive ones
Disorder categories
- Anxiety disorder
- Mood disorder
- Substance abuse disorder
- Personality disorder
Anxiety disorders
• They tend to feature: - Irrational, disabling levels of fear or anxiety
- Fear or anxiety that is persistent or easily triggered
• Generalized anxiety disorder: - Persistent anxiety or fear without a specific trigger - Restlessness, has difficulty concentrating or sleeping
Stress Disorders
• Stress disorders often feature anxiety or depression following a specific, traumatic event
• If the symptoms last less than a month, it is called Acute stress disorder
• If the symptoms last more than a month, it is called Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Key symptoms include:• Hyper alertness to surroundings
- Easily startled by ordinary stimuli in environment
- Sleep disturbances
- Overwhelming guilt
Mood Disorders
• Mood disorders typically feature - Depression: low, sad state in which one feels overwhelmed - Depression is the most common symptom/diagnosis for mood disorders - Mania: inappropriate elation and frenzied energy
Major Depressive Disorder
• The most commonly diagnosed mood disorder
• It features symptoms in five areas
-Emotional: depressed mood
-Motivational: loss of desire to do usual activities, lack of drive
-Behavioral: less active and productive, may move and speak slowly
-Cognitive: negative self-evaluation, self-blame, pessimism
-Physical: headaches, indigestion, constipation, dizzy spells, pain, sleep and eating disturbance
• A typical major depressive disorder diagnosis requires the symptoms last at
least two weeks
Bipolar Disorder
• Bipolar Disorder is when an individual cycles between depression and
mania
• In addition to depression, the mania symptoms typical of bipolar disorder
include
- Emotional: powerful highs and lows
- Motivational: seek excitement and companionship
- Behavioral: may move and speak quickly
- Cognitive: poor judgment and planning, optimism, grandiosity
- Physical: energetic, require little sleep
Substance Abuse Disorders
These disorders feature the same main characteristic regardless of the particular drug involved:• Dependence on a substance even though it has physical, mental, and social side effects
• Other key characteristics of substance abuse disorders include
- Tolerance: needing more quantities of the drug over time to achieve the same feeling
- Withdrawal: unpleasant physical and psychological sensations when use of the substance slows or stops
Personality Disorders
• Maladaptive patterns of behavior
and thought that clash or violate
cultural norms
• Some famous types include
- Borderline personality disorder:
unstable emotions, sense of self,
and relationships with others
- Narcissistic personality disorder:
exaggerated feelings of self
importance, lack of empathy,
excessive need for admirationSchizophrenia
• Losing contact with reality
• Key symptoms include
- Delusions: false beliefs
- Hallucinations: false sensory
perceptions
- Disorganized thinking and speech
- Inappropriate emotions and
behaviorsDissociative Identity Disorder
• A person has separate, distinct personalities and memories • Despite its popularity in popular culture, dissociative identity disorder is a very rare condition
Treatment for Psychological Disorders
- Drug Therapy
- Insight Therapy
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Drug Therapy
• Drug therapy
• The most commonly applied treatment for psychological disorders
• Commonly prescribed drugs for disorders include:
• Antidepressants for depressive disorders
• Antipsychotics for schizophrenia
• Mood stabilizers for bipolar disorders
• Most drugs target neurotransmitters in the brain
• Some mimic the desired neurotransmitter or prevent its reuptake between synapses,
therefore increasing the concentration (such as antidepressants increasing serotonin)
• Some reduce the release of the desired neurotransmitter or block its transmission
between synapses, therefore reducing the concentration (such as antipsychotics
reducing dopamine)
Insight Therapy
• Otherwise known as psychoanalysis, it is the “talking cure” created by Freud
• Assumes root causes of a disorder are based in childhood experiences or trauma
• The patient must discuss current and past events, dreams, or whatever the
psychoanalyst can use to uncover the underlying cause of the disorder
Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
• Must recognize maladaptive behaviors or thoughts and correct them
• Instead of looking at childhood experiences for clues, will focus on present
circumstances and the immediate environment
• Uses many techniques including reframing (adjusting expectations or
assumptions) or exposure (repeatedly and directly encountering a fear-inducing
stimulus)
